Stats Analysis

Sixth-wicket bounty, and Ashwin equals Marshall

The sixth-wicket pairs have been on a roll in 2016, with England's Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow leading the way

S Rajesh
S Rajesh
19-Nov-2016
The sixth-wicket pair has added by far the most runs, at the best average and run rate, for England in 2016  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The sixth-wicket pair has added by far the most runs, at the best average and run rate, for England in 2016  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

1759 Partnership runs for England's sixth wicket in Tests in 2016, the fourth highest by any team for a wicket in a calendar year. The highest is Pakistan's 2341 for the third wicket in 2006, when Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan added 1530 in 11 innings. This is the highest for any wicket for England in a calendar year, though: the previous highest was 1704 for the fourth wicket in 2015.
Most runs for a wicket for England in a calendar year
Year For wkt Inns Runs Ave 100s
 2016  6th  22  1759  79.95  5
 2015  4th  25  1704  68.16  8
 2006  4th  26  1557  62.28  4
 2010  2nd  24  1489  70.9  5
 2003  3rd  22  1476  67.09  6
 1930  4th  24  1459  66.31  4
 2002  2nd  24  1450  60.41  6
 2004  1st  26  1437  59.87  5
79.95 England's average stand for the sixth wicket in Tests in 2016, the highest by far among all wickets; the next best is 45.42, for the seventh wicket. England's sixth wicket run rate of 4.02 is also by far their best this year, as is the five century stands.
772 Partnership runs between Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow in Tests in 2016, the most by any pair. The next best is 750, by Alastair Cook and Alex Hales. There are three England pairs in the top four, and four in the top six.
4 Teams which have a 50-plus average for the sixth wicket in 2016: apart from England, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa have also had prolific sixth-wicket pairs.
9 Fifty-plus Test scores for Bairstow in 2016, which equals the record for the most such scores by a wicketkeeper-batsman in a calendar year. AB de Villiers also had nine such scores when he played as wicketkeeper in 2013.
60.46 Stokes' Test batting average in 2016 - he has scored 786 runs in 14 innings. Only two other batsmen - Bairstow and Virat Kohli - have scored 750 runs at 60-plus averages this year.
22 Five-fors for R Ashwin in just 41 Tests. Only three bowlers have taken more five-fors for India: Anil Kumble (35 in 132), Harbhajan Singh (25 in 103) and Kapil Dev (23 in 131). Overall, 14 bowlers have taken more five-fors in Tests, while Ashwin is level with Waqar Younis, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh on 22.
16 Instances of Cheteshwar Pujara being bowled in Tests. He has been dismissed 59 times by bowlers in Tests, which means bowled dismissals constitute 27% of his total outs in Tests.

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. @rajeshstats